Temwa Chawinga Makes History as First African Woman in Ballon d’Or Top 10
Malawi’s Temwa Chawinga has become the first African woman to finish in the top 10 of the Women’s
Ballon d’Or, after rankings for the 2026 award were revealed on Monday, 26 October 2026.
The Kansas City Current forward was named among the ten finalists for the prestigious honour, with
France Football listing her at the top of the revealed Women’s Ballon d’Or ranking ahead of the
ceremony at the London Palladium.
Chawinga’s inclusion marks a historic breakthrough for African women’s football. No African woman had
previously finished higher than 12th. Zambia’s Barbra Banda held the previous record with 12th place in
2024 and 14th in 2025. Banda finished 18th in the 2026 rankings.
Chawinga herself had placed 17th in her first nomination in 2025. Her older sister, Tabitha Chawinga,
finished 16th in 2024.
The official Ballon d’Or account confirmed the women’s top 10 finalists as: Temwa Chawinga
(Malawi/Kansas City Current), Melchie Dumornay (Haiti/Lyon), Caroline Graham Hansen
(Norway/Barcelona), Patri Guijarro (Spain/Barcelona), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Bayern Munich), Ewa
Pajor (Poland/Barcelona), Clàudia Pina (Spain/Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (Spain/Barcelona), Alessia
Russo (England/Arsenal) and Khadija Shaw (Jamaica/Manchester City).
Chawinga earned her second consecutive nomination after a strong season in the NWSL with Kansas City
Current and a standout performance at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where she
won the Golden Boot with five goals and two assists while helping Malawi reach the final on their debut.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, the 70th edition and the first held outside France, took place in London
on 26 October.
By Oyinkansola Shittu.
